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Data gathered from Facebook users likely spread to other databases and dark web, say experts
The data on millions of Facebook users that a firm wrongfully swiped from the social network has likely spread to other groups, databases and the dark web, experts said, making company's pledge to safeguard its users’ privacy hard to enforce.
Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said earlier this week that it would notify users whose data might have been taken by Cambridge Analytica, a political marketing firm that worked for the Trump campaign. Cambridge Analytica obtained the data of an estimated 50 million users in 2014 and 2015 under false pretences, breaking Facebook’s rules. Mr Zuckerberg said that the world’s biggest social network has taken steps to ensure data on millions of its users does not get into the wrong hands.
But Paul-Olivier Dehaye, a privacy expert and co-founder of PersonalData.IO, said he suspects the data has already proliferated far beyond Cambridge Analytica’s reach. “It is the whole nature of this ecosystem,” Mr Dehaye said. “This data travels. And once it has spread there is no way to get it back.”
Mr Zuckerberg added that Facebook will investigate and audit thousands of third-party developers. Third-party apps could access data on Facebook users and their friends until 2015, when Facebook changed its rules. Experts question whether the network’s push to investigate and audit thousands of third-party developers will merit any true results. Mr Dehaye questioned how Facebook would define which apps merit investigation and what would constitute “suspicious activity”.
Facebook said that it conducts manual and automated checks to verify developers comply with its policies. It also plans to expand its bug bounty programme to report misuse of data.
Mr Zuckerberg said in interviews that the company is investigating reports that independent researchers and dark web data brokers are trading user data grabbed by the firm Cambridge Analytica.
Frank Pasquale, a University of Maryland professor who specialises in algorithms and tech ethics, called this “the runaway data problem” and said there is no way to return the genie to the bottle when it comes to securing data that’s already been released. Location and demographic information, like the data taken from Facebook, can often be used to tie someone to other data points where the identity was previously unclear.
“The larger data sets you get about individuals, the easier it is to use those to reidentify them in data sets where they think they’re anonymous,” professor Pasquale said. “With a relatively small amount of data points, you can infer an incredible amount of very personal information about people.”
Facebook does not know whether other companies have shared or mishandled user data and a forensic audit is ongoing, Mr Zuckerberg told Wired magazine. Asked by Wired how confident he was that Facebook data had not gotten into the hands of Russian operatives or other groups, Mr Zuckerberg said, “I can’t really say that. I hope that we will know that more certainly after we do an audit.”
For many of Facebook’s prime growth years, the company gave outside developers access to virtually everything that a user who authorised an app or her friends, had posted on the social network: her home town, current city, events and location check-ins; her interests, groups and all the pages she’d liked; her relationship statuses with romantic partners, friends and family; her birthday, activities, work history and political and religious affiliations and her photos, notes and videos.
Facebook changed its rules in 2015 amid concerns over how the data was being used. But for years, other developers had the power to construct the same kinds of massive micro-targeted databases that had helped make Facebook so prominent. It’s unclear how many other services used that power or what they have done with the data pulled.
Mr Zuckerberg said the company will “investigate all apps that had access to large amounts of information” before the rule change, a number he said would likely be in the thousands. The company, he added, “will conduct a full audit of any app with suspicious activity” and said the company would likely need to hire more workers to complete the audits. “We want to make sure that there aren’t other Cambridge Analyticas out there,” he told Wired.
The data shared with Cambridge Analytica was taken via a personality quiz, called ThisIsYourDigitalLife, that was initially approved by Facebook for research purposes.
World news in pictures
World news in pictures
1/50 02 July 2018
Firefighters scramble to control flames surrounding a fire truck as the Pawnee fire jumps across highway 20 near Clearlake Oaks, California
AFP/Getty Images
2/50 01 July 2018
Presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador greets supporters as he arrives at a polling station during the presidential election in Mexico City
Reuters
3/50 30 June 2018
North Korea leader Kim Jong Un inspects Unit 1524 of the Korean People's Army (KPA).
KCNA via Reuters
4/50 29 June 2018
Mount Agung's crater glows red from the lava as it spews volcanic smoke on Bali Island. The Indonesian tourist island closed its international airport, stranding thousands of travelers, as the Mount Agung volcano gushed a 2,500-meter (8,200-feet) column of ash and smoke.
AP
5/50 28 June 2018
The remains of market stalls smoulder after a fire swept through a marketplace in Nairobi, Kenya. Several people have died in the fire and about 70 are receiving hospital treatment, with rescue teams left searching through the scene.
AP
6/50 27 June 2018
Smoke rises in the rebel-held town of Nawa in southern Syria during airstrikes by Syrian regime forces. Syria's army launched an assault on the flashpoint southern city of Daraa state media said, after a week of deadly bombardment on the nearby countryside caused mass displacement. Government forces have set their sights on retaking the south of the country, a strategic area that borders Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
AFP/Getty
7/50 26 June 2018
French President Emmanuel Macron greets Pope Francis at the end of a private audience at the Vatican.
AFP/Getty Images
8/50 25 June 2018
The frame of an abandoned Peugeot 404 rests in Niger's Tenere desert region of the south central Sahara on Sunday, June 3, 2018. Once a well-worn roadway for overlander tourists, the highway 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles) are a favored path for migrants heading north in hopes of a better life and more recently thousands who are being expelled south from Algeria.
AP
9/50 24 June 2018
Saudi women celebrate after they drove their cars in Al Khobar after the law allowing women to drive took effect. Saudi Arabia will allow women to drive from June 24, ending the world's only ban on female motorists.
REUTERS
10/50 23 June 2018
People gather as the injured are helped by medics at the scene of an explosion during a rally to support the country's new reformist prime minister Abiy Ahmed in Meskel Square in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Reports say the blast occurred shortly after he addressed thousands of his supporters. He then spoke to the crowd afterwards, saying a people had been killed.
EPA
11/50 22 June 2018
Participants of the Dark Mofo Nude Solstice Swim are seen in the River Derwent at dawn, in Hobart, Australia,
Reuters
12/50 21 June 2018
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi participates in a mass yoga session along with other practitioners to mark International Yoga Day at the Forest Research Institute (FRI) in Dehradun.
Tens of thousands of yoga practitioners worldwide on June 21 are expected to celebrate the fourth annual International Yoga Day, first proposed by the Indian PM in 2014 to the UN General Assembly and adopted unanimously.
AFP/Getty
13/50 20 June 2018
A woman and child are told they will have to wait before crossing the US border as confusion sets in following the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy on immigration
Getty
14/50 19 June 2018
People wave a banner with a picture of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a gathering of supporters of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Istanbul, Turkey,. Turkish President Erdogan announced on 18 April that Turkey will hold snap presidential and parliamentary elections on 24 June 2018, after elections were scheduled to be held in November 2019.
EPA
15/50 18 June 2018
Residents pass by a temple gate collapsed by an earthquake in Ibaraki, Osaka Prefecture, western Japan. The earthquake, which struck western Japan, killed three people and injured more than 50.
EPA
16/50 17 June 2018
Juan Carlos Osorio, manager of Mexico's national football team, celebrates their World Cup victory against Germany
Getty
17/50 16 June 2018
Kashmiri youths through stones during clashes between protestors and Indian government forces in Srinagar
AFP/Getty Images
18/50 16 June 2018
People are silhouetted on the flybridge of a yacht as fireworks illuminates the sky over the Yas Viceroy luxury hotel on the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Fitr at the Marina on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi
EPA
19/50 15 June 2018
Somali Muslims take part in Eid al-Fitr prayer which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan at the football pitch of the Jamacadaha stadium in Mogadishu.
AFP/Getty Images
20/50 14 June 2018
Artists perform during the opening ceremony of the 2018 World Cup in Russia ahead of the group A match between Russia and Saudi Arabia at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
Getty
21/50 13 June 2018
Pope Francis arrives to lead the Wednesday general audience in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican
Reuters
22/50 12 June 2018
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their historic meeting at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore.
Reuters
23/50 11 June 2018
US President Donald Trump looking at a cake being brought for him during a working lunch with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during his visit to The Istana, the official residence of the prime minister, in Singapore. Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump will meet on June 12 for an unprecedented summit, with the US President calling it a "one time shot" at peace.
AFP/Getty
24/50 10 June 2018
Muharrem Ince, presidential candidate of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), delivers a speech from the roof of a bus during a campaign meeting in Istanbul.
AFP/Getty
25/50 9 June 2018
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaking to US Presidend Donald Trump during the second day of the G7 meeting in Charlevoix, Canada. Looking on is US National Security Advisor John Bolton.
EPA
26/50 8 June 2018
Former South African President Jacob Zuma sings and dances on stage after delivering a speech during a rally in his support outside the High Court, in Durban.
AFP/Getty
27/50 7 June 2018
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to a question during his annual call-in show in Moscow. Putin hosts call-in shows every year, which typically provide a platform for ordinary Russians to appeal to the president on issues ranging from foreign policy to housing and utilities.
AP
28/50 6 June 2018
Protesters wave flags and shout slogans during a demonstration against the use of the term "Macedonia" in any solution to a dispute between Athens and Skopje over the former Yugoslav republic's name, in the northern town of Pella, Greece.
Reuters
29/50 5 June 2018
Police officers salute as the caskets of policewomen Soraya Belkacemi, 44, and Lucile Garcia, 54, arrive during their funeral in Liege. The two officers, and one bystander were killed in Liege on Tuesday by a gunman. Police later killed the attacker, and other officers were wounded in the shooting.
AP
30/50 4 June 2018
A rescue worker carries a child covered with ash after a volcano erupted violently in El Rodeo, Guatemala. Volcan de Fuego, whose name means "Volcano of Fire", spewed an 8km (5-mile) stream of red hot lava and belched a thick plume of black smoke and ash that rained onto the capital and other regions. Dozens were killed across three villages.
Reuters
31/50 3 June 2018
A recycler drags a huge bag of paper sorted for recycling past a heap of non-recyclable material at Richmond sanitary landfill site in the industrial city of Bulawayo. Plastic waste remains a challenging waste management issue due to its non-biodegrable nature, if not managed properly plastic ends up as litter polluting water ways, wetlands and storm drains causing flash flooding around Zimbabwe's cities and towns. Urban and rural areas are fighting the continuous battle against a scourge of plastic litter. On June 5, 2018 the United Nations mark the World Environment Day which plastic pollution is the main theme this year.
AFP/Getty
32/50 2 June 2018
Palestinian mourners carry the body of 21-year-old medical volunteer Razan al-Najjar during her funeral after she was shot dead by Israeli soldiers near the Gaza border fence on June 1, in another day of protests and violence. She was shot near Khan Yunis in the south of the territory, health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said, bringing the toll of Gazans killed by Israeli fire since the end of March to 123.
AFP/Getty
33/50 1 June 2018
Spain's new Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez poses after a vote on a no-confidence motion at the Spanish Parliament in Madrid. Spain's parliament ousted Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in a no-confidence vote sparked by fury over his party's corruption woes, with his Socialist arch-rival Pedro Sanchez automatically taking over.
AFP/Getty
34/50 31 May 2018
Zinedine Zidane looks on after a press conference to announce his resignation as manager from Real Madrid. He confirmed he was leaving the Spanish giants, just days after winning the Champions League for the third year in a row.
AFP/Getty
35/50 30 May 2018
A worker cleans up the Millenaire migrants makeshift camp along the Canal de Saint-Denis near Porte de la Villette, northern Paris, following its evacuation on May 30. More than a thousand migrants and refugees were evacuated early in the morning from the camp that had been set up for several weeks along the Canal.
AFP/Getty
36/50 29 May 2018
Police and ambulances are seen at the site where a gunman shot dead three people, two of them policemen, before being killed by elite officers, in the eastern Belgian city of Liege.
AFP/Getty
37/50 28 May 2018
French President Emmanuel Macron meets with Mamoudou Gassama, 22, from Mali, at the presidential Elysee Palace in Paris. Gassama living illegally in France is being honored by Macron for scaling an apartment building over the weekend to save a 4-year-old child dangling from a fifth-floor balcony.
AP
38/50 27 May 2018
Migrants wait to disembark from the ship Aquarius in the Sicilian harbour of Catania, Italy
Reuters
39/50 26 May 2018
Ireland awaits the official result of a referendum that could end the country’s ban on abortion. Co-Director of Together For Yes Ailbhe Smyth speaks to the media after exit polls suggested victory for the Yes campaign.
PA Wire/PA Images
40/50 25 May 2018
Film producer Harvey Weinstein arrives at the 1st Precinct in Manhattan where he turned himself in to New York police for sexual misconduct charges.
Reuters
41/50 24 May 2018
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the Konstantin Palace in Strelna, outside Saint Petersburg, on May 24, 2018
Getty Images
42/50 23 May 2018
People protest outisde the Tamil Nadu House after at least 10 people were killed when police fired on protesters seeking closure of plant on environmental grounds in town of Thoothukudi in southern state of Tamil Nadu, in New Delhi.
ANI via Reuters
43/50 22 May 2018
People demonstrate in Paris during a nationwide day protest by French public sector employees and public servants against the overhauls proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron, calling them an "attack" by the centrist leader against civil services as well as their economic security.
AFP/Getty
44/50 21 May 2018
Newly appointed Catalan president Quim Torra arrives to visit jailed Catalan separatist politicians at the Estremera jail near Madrid.
AFP/Getty
45/50 20 May 2018
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro casts his vote during the presidential elections in Caracas. Maduro was seeking a second term in power.
AFP/Getty
46/50 19 May 2018
Channelized lava emerges on Kilauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone on Hawaii. The USGS said on its website that "a fast-moving pahoehoe lava flow that emerged from fissure 20... continues to flow southeast," with the quickest of three "lobes" progressing at 230 yards (210 meters) per hour.
AFP/US Geological Survey
47/50 18 May 2018
Santa Fe High School student Dakota Shrader is comforted by her mother Susan Davidson following a shooting at the school in Texas. Shrader said her friend was shot in the incident. Multiple people have been killed.
Stuart Villanueva/The Galveston County Daily News via AP
48/50 17 May 2018
French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Theresa May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel meeting during the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Reuters
49/50 16 May 2018
People hold flags with the state coat of arms of Russia as they drive along a bridge, which was constructed to connect the Russian mainland with the Crimean Peninsula across the Kerch Strait.
Reuters
50/50 15 May 2018
Palestinians run away from tear gas shot at them by Israeli forces during a protest in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank
AFP/Getty
1/50 02 July 2018
Firefighters scramble to control flames surrounding a fire truck as the Pawnee fire jumps across highway 20 near Clearlake Oaks, California
AFP/Getty Images
2/50 01 July 2018
Presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador greets supporters as he arrives at a polling station during the presidential election in Mexico City
Reuters
3/50 30 June 2018
North Korea leader Kim Jong Un inspects Unit 1524 of the Korean People's Army (KPA).
KCNA via Reuters
4/50 29 June 2018
Mount Agung's crater glows red from the lava as it spews volcanic smoke on Bali Island. The Indonesian tourist island closed its international airport, stranding thousands of travelers, as the Mount Agung volcano gushed a 2,500-meter (8,200-feet) column of ash and smoke.
AP
5/50 28 June 2018
The remains of market stalls smoulder after a fire swept through a marketplace in Nairobi, Kenya. Several people have died in the fire and about 70 are receiving hospital treatment, with rescue teams left searching through the scene.
AP
6/50 27 June 2018
Smoke rises in the rebel-held town of Nawa in southern Syria during airstrikes by Syrian regime forces. Syria's army launched an assault on the flashpoint southern city of Daraa state media said, after a week of deadly bombardment on the nearby countryside caused mass displacement. Government forces have set their sights on retaking the south of the country, a strategic area that borders Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
AFP/Getty
7/50 26 June 2018
French President Emmanuel Macron greets Pope Francis at the end of a private audience at the Vatican.
AFP/Getty Images
8/50 25 June 2018
The frame of an abandoned Peugeot 404 rests in Niger's Tenere desert region of the south central Sahara on Sunday, June 3, 2018. Once a well-worn roadway for overlander tourists, the highway 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles) are a favored path for migrants heading north in hopes of a better life and more recently thousands who are being expelled south from Algeria.
AP
9/50 24 June 2018
Saudi women celebrate after they drove their cars in Al Khobar after the law allowing women to drive took effect. Saudi Arabia will allow women to drive from June 24, ending the world's only ban on female motorists.
REUTERS
10/50 23 June 2018
People gather as the injured are helped by medics at the scene of an explosion during a rally to support the country's new reformist prime minister Abiy Ahmed in Meskel Square in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Reports say the blast occurred shortly after he addressed thousands of his supporters. He then spoke to the crowd afterwards, saying a people had been killed.
EPA
11/50 22 June 2018
Participants of the Dark Mofo Nude Solstice Swim are seen in the River Derwent at dawn, in Hobart, Australia,
Reuters
12/50 21 June 2018
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi participates in a mass yoga session along with other practitioners to mark International Yoga Day at the Forest Research Institute (FRI) in Dehradun.
Tens of thousands of yoga practitioners worldwide on June 21 are expected to celebrate the fourth annual International Yoga Day, first proposed by the Indian PM in 2014 to the UN General Assembly and adopted unanimously.
AFP/Getty
13/50 20 June 2018
A woman and child are told they will have to wait before crossing the US border as confusion sets in following the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy on immigration
Getty
14/50 19 June 2018
People wave a banner with a picture of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a gathering of supporters of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Istanbul, Turkey,. Turkish President Erdogan announced on 18 April that Turkey will hold snap presidential and parliamentary elections on 24 June 2018, after elections were scheduled to be held in November 2019.
EPA
15/50 18 June 2018
Residents pass by a temple gate collapsed by an earthquake in Ibaraki, Osaka Prefecture, western Japan. The earthquake, which struck western Japan, killed three people and injured more than 50.
EPA
16/50 17 June 2018
Juan Carlos Osorio, manager of Mexico's national football team, celebrates their World Cup victory against Germany
Getty
17/50 16 June 2018
Kashmiri youths through stones during clashes between protestors and Indian government forces in Srinagar
AFP/Getty Images
18/50 16 June 2018
People are silhouetted on the flybridge of a yacht as fireworks illuminates the sky over the Yas Viceroy luxury hotel on the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Fitr at the Marina on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi
EPA
19/50 15 June 2018
Somali Muslims take part in Eid al-Fitr prayer which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan at the football pitch of the Jamacadaha stadium in Mogadishu.
AFP/Getty Images
20/50 14 June 2018
Artists perform during the opening ceremony of the 2018 World Cup in Russia ahead of the group A match between Russia and Saudi Arabia at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
Getty
21/50 13 June 2018
Pope Francis arrives to lead the Wednesday general audience in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican
Reuters
22/50 12 June 2018
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their historic meeting at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore.
Reuters
23/50 11 June 2018
US President Donald Trump looking at a cake being brought for him during a working lunch with Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during his visit to The Istana, the official residence of the prime minister, in Singapore. Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump will meet on June 12 for an unprecedented summit, with the US President calling it a "one time shot" at peace.
AFP/Getty
24/50 10 June 2018
Muharrem Ince, presidential candidate of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), delivers a speech from the roof of a bus during a campaign meeting in Istanbul.
AFP/Getty
25/50 9 June 2018
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaking to US Presidend Donald Trump during the second day of the G7 meeting in Charlevoix, Canada. Looking on is US National Security Advisor John Bolton.
EPA
26/50 8 June 2018
Former South African President Jacob Zuma sings and dances on stage after delivering a speech during a rally in his support outside the High Court, in Durban.
AFP/Getty
27/50 7 June 2018
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to a question during his annual call-in show in Moscow. Putin hosts call-in shows every year, which typically provide a platform for ordinary Russians to appeal to the president on issues ranging from foreign policy to housing and utilities.
AP
28/50 6 June 2018
Protesters wave flags and shout slogans during a demonstration against the use of the term "Macedonia" in any solution to a dispute between Athens and Skopje over the former Yugoslav republic's name, in the northern town of Pella, Greece.
Reuters
29/50 5 June 2018
Police officers salute as the caskets of policewomen Soraya Belkacemi, 44, and Lucile Garcia, 54, arrive during their funeral in Liege. The two officers, and one bystander were killed in Liege on Tuesday by a gunman. Police later killed the attacker, and other officers were wounded in the shooting.
AP
30/50 4 June 2018
A rescue worker carries a child covered with ash after a volcano erupted violently in El Rodeo, Guatemala. Volcan de Fuego, whose name means "Volcano of Fire", spewed an 8km (5-mile) stream of red hot lava and belched a thick plume of black smoke and ash that rained onto the capital and other regions. Dozens were killed across three villages.
Reuters
31/50 3 June 2018
A recycler drags a huge bag of paper sorted for recycling past a heap of non-recyclable material at Richmond sanitary landfill site in the industrial city of Bulawayo. Plastic waste remains a challenging waste management issue due to its non-biodegrable nature, if not managed properly plastic ends up as litter polluting water ways, wetlands and storm drains causing flash flooding around Zimbabwe's cities and towns. Urban and rural areas are fighting the continuous battle against a scourge of plastic litter. On June 5, 2018 the United Nations mark the World Environment Day which plastic pollution is the main theme this year.
AFP/Getty
32/50 2 June 2018
Palestinian mourners carry the body of 21-year-old medical volunteer Razan al-Najjar during her funeral after she was shot dead by Israeli soldiers near the Gaza border fence on June 1, in another day of protests and violence. She was shot near Khan Yunis in the south of the territory, health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said, bringing the toll of Gazans killed by Israeli fire since the end of March to 123.
AFP/Getty
33/50 1 June 2018
Spain's new Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez poses after a vote on a no-confidence motion at the Spanish Parliament in Madrid. Spain's parliament ousted Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in a no-confidence vote sparked by fury over his party's corruption woes, with his Socialist arch-rival Pedro Sanchez automatically taking over.
AFP/Getty
34/50 31 May 2018
Zinedine Zidane looks on after a press conference to announce his resignation as manager from Real Madrid. He confirmed he was leaving the Spanish giants, just days after winning the Champions League for the third year in a row.
AFP/Getty
35/50 30 May 2018
A worker cleans up the Millenaire migrants makeshift camp along the Canal de Saint-Denis near Porte de la Villette, northern Paris, following its evacuation on May 30. More than a thousand migrants and refugees were evacuated early in the morning from the camp that had been set up for several weeks along the Canal.
AFP/Getty
36/50 29 May 2018
Police and ambulances are seen at the site where a gunman shot dead three people, two of them policemen, before being killed by elite officers, in the eastern Belgian city of Liege.
AFP/Getty
37/50 28 May 2018
French President Emmanuel Macron meets with Mamoudou Gassama, 22, from Mali, at the presidential Elysee Palace in Paris. Gassama living illegally in France is being honored by Macron for scaling an apartment building over the weekend to save a 4-year-old child dangling from a fifth-floor balcony.
AP
38/50 27 May 2018
Migrants wait to disembark from the ship Aquarius in the Sicilian harbour of Catania, Italy
Reuters
39/50 26 May 2018
Ireland awaits the official result of a referendum that could end the country’s ban on abortion. Co-Director of Together For Yes Ailbhe Smyth speaks to the media after exit polls suggested victory for the Yes campaign.
PA Wire/PA Images
40/50 25 May 2018
Film producer Harvey Weinstein arrives at the 1st Precinct in Manhattan where he turned himself in to New York police for sexual misconduct charges.
Reuters
41/50 24 May 2018
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the Konstantin Palace in Strelna, outside Saint Petersburg, on May 24, 2018
Getty Images
42/50 23 May 2018
People protest outisde the Tamil Nadu House after at least 10 people were killed when police fired on protesters seeking closure of plant on environmental grounds in town of Thoothukudi in southern state of Tamil Nadu, in New Delhi.
ANI via Reuters
43/50 22 May 2018
People demonstrate in Paris during a nationwide day protest by French public sector employees and public servants against the overhauls proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron, calling them an "attack" by the centrist leader against civil services as well as their economic security.
AFP/Getty
44/50 21 May 2018
Newly appointed Catalan president Quim Torra arrives to visit jailed Catalan separatist politicians at the Estremera jail near Madrid.
AFP/Getty
45/50 20 May 2018
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro casts his vote during the presidential elections in Caracas. Maduro was seeking a second term in power.
AFP/Getty
46/50 19 May 2018
Channelized lava emerges on Kilauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone on Hawaii. The USGS said on its website that "a fast-moving pahoehoe lava flow that emerged from fissure 20... continues to flow southeast," with the quickest of three "lobes" progressing at 230 yards (210 meters) per hour.
AFP/US Geological Survey
47/50 18 May 2018
Santa Fe High School student Dakota Shrader is comforted by her mother Susan Davidson following a shooting at the school in Texas. Shrader said her friend was shot in the incident. Multiple people have been killed.
Stuart Villanueva/The Galveston County Daily News via AP
48/50 17 May 2018
French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Theresa May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel meeting during the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Reuters
49/50 16 May 2018
People hold flags with the state coat of arms of Russia as they drive along a bridge, which was constructed to connect the Russian mainland with the Crimean Peninsula across the Kerch Strait.
Reuters
50/50 15 May 2018
Palestinians run away from tear gas shot at them by Israeli forces during a protest in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank
AFP/Getty
It’s unclear how Facebook would know how to find or recover users’ data. The data taken by the researcher Dr Aleksandr Kogan, who provided it to Cambridge Analytica, “wasn’t watermarked in anyway,” Mr Zuckerberg told Wired. “And if he passed along data to Cambridge Analytica that was some kind of derivative data based on personality scores or something, we wouldn’t have known that or ever seen that data.”
In the same year that Facebook severed ties with him, Dr Kogan also started his own San Francisco-based survey data firm, Philometrics, raising questions about whether he took the Facebook data with him and used for commercial purposes. (Dr Kogan did not reply to repeated requests for comment).
Apps and start-ups that grabbed user data over a number of years, Mr Dehaye said, often hand over their data if they’re acquired by another company or sell their data sets if they close or liquidate.
Facebook opened the door to developers in 2007 in hopes of expanding Facebook’s reach across the web by making it easier for other sites to connect with the sprawling connective maps Facebook uses to link people by relationships and tastes, known as its “social graph” and “interest graph”.
Marketing firms have spent tens of millions of dollars to learn similar information – including compiling consumer surveys and purchasing massive consumer files from data brokers such as Experian and Acxiom – all of which came from different sources and had varying ages, precision and usefulness. Facebook’s wealth of data, on the other hand, was packed with detailed information volunteered by users themselves and offered completely free until the rule change took effect in 2015.
Facebook, Mr Zuckerberg said, will now restrict the data that third-party developers can access to names, profile photos and email addresses and will require developers to sign a contract before being allowed to ask users for rights to their posts.
Facebook said it will ban developers who misuse its data.
The sheer size of the data pulled from Facebook, experts say, is powerful on its own – and could prove valuable for marketers, political campaigns or other groups seeking to target users en masse.
“Getting good data on 50 million people from a relatively neutral, nonpartisan source that is diversely spread and not just clustered in one tiny segment of the social graph – that’s a big deal,” said Matthew Hindman, a George Washington University associate professor who researches online campaigning and internet politics. “If you can see that many people’s activity on Facebook, you can guess pretty accurately what their partisanship might be, no matter how good your model is.”